A friend of mine was given a rifle made by the Birmingham Small Arms Co. (BSA), .310 caliber. Anyone ever heard of this cartridge? On one side of the receiver it says it was made in Australia. It's a small single shot, falling block action. Cute little gun. Anyway, he was wondering where he could get ammunition for it. I didn't have a clue but I told him I would ask the experts (you guys) and would get an answer for sure.

Probably one of these .310 Cadet,sorry, can't help with load info for it but would be surprised if a revolver case of some sort couldn't be adapted.
Steve

The cases are made by Bertram and Huntingtons or CH-4D has the dies. Dies are less expensive at CH4D. Buffalo Arms has the lead bullets I was tod. You might check Old Western Scrounger for loaded ammo. Some guys will tell you a 32/20 will work. It usually won`t and the bore size is different too. About 319 or so. Most of these neat little rifles have been bastardized into 17s, 22s and a host of other cases. Too bad as they are neat to shoot as-is but difficult to load for. Good luck with the Cadet.
Aloha, Mark

I once had a cadet. I would fireform 32-20 to the chamber and after swaging .328 lead bullets to .320 it shot pretty neat. I would really like to find another in as good a shape as that one was. I would be interested in converting to 32 H&R or maybe 357 Maximum. 310 Cadet is also available through Midway, I think. A few European mfgs still load the cartridge. They are fun to shoot. Good practice before stepping up to 577-450!

Andy B

Thanks for the help. I'll pass it on.

It was made in Britain, for the various State Governments of Australia by BSA. But it wasn't made in Australia. The 310 Cadet is a heel based bullet. RCBS used to list moulds for it. It was used for cadet training so is faily well accurate. In Australia a lot were converted to 22 Hornet.

I've not read this link but here it is anyway:

http://64.177.205.5/martini/cadet.htm

This however is always a good site for miniature rifle info:

http://www.rifleman.org.uk/BSA_Model_4.html

i believe the old western scrounger had 310 ammo

I have one of the Australians that has been rebarreled, now octagon to round in 357 mag. A little Lyman tube up front and a Williams receiver sight in back and its loads of fun to shoot.

quote:

Originally posted by .429:
I have one of the Australians that has been rebarreled, now octagon to round in 357 mag. A little Lyman tube up front and a Williams receiver sight in back and its loads of fun to shoot.

This was a common conversion, and a good one. I had one converted by a gunsmith whose name I can't recall, in Oakridge, Oregon back in 1963. It was a real doll.

Have also had a Greener "Club Rifle" (a heavy barreled target model produced by Greener on the same small Martini action) in .310 Greener, and it was one of the most accurate Martinis I have ever seen, with plain old factory ammo of the day (early 1970s is when I had it). I bought the Greener at auction in old blighty, packaged and delivered for shipping to me in Canada, for 5 Guineas!

Anyway, Road Dog, your friend is likely best off using something else as a "shooter" unless he is a devoted handloader and wants to buy a couple of moulds and the rest of the equipment to make bullets to fit the bore. Ammo for the .310 is around, but it sure isn't inexpensive most places these days.

I really found my .310 Cadet to be both challenging and fun to shoot. Buffalo Arms brass is made from 32-20 brass and was reasonably price. The heeled bullets from the RCBS molds worked well. It is very accurate and the original sight is suprisingly precise all the way out to 300 meters. Probably not the best project for the beginner handloader though.

Road Dog, I sent you a PM. I am just south of you outside of Placerville and may be able to help your friend.

Dave

For more information on the Martini Cadet there is a British Militaria Forum. http://britishmilitariaforums.yuku.com/directory I have a Cadet chambered in .32 Winchester Special which shoots very well with iron sights. The .32 Win Spec was a popular conversion when these rifles were imported in the early 1960's.